The federal government should not make English the national language of the United States of America because not everyone speaks it. Even though it is the most common spoken language do not forget about those who do not know it. The government can not force anyone to learn or know any language. If English did become the official language those who do not know it would have trouble. They would not know how to speak, it so they would probably make mistakes.
By having an official language implies that all official government documentations would be represented in one language. On the surface, this matter seems like it would not have a detrimental effect to Americans who are expected to know how to speak, read, and write English. Yet, for immigrants in the process of becoming American citizens, this would delay their ability to be represented in government affairs. According to National Education Association 's publication of Official English/English Only: More Than Meets the Eye, said that the result from only having English present “is an attempt to disenfranchise minority citizens” and instead “promotes divisiveness and hostility toward those whose first language is not English”. By not having documents translated to their language, this can demonstrate that they are not welcomed and, thus, unimportant.
It reduces the immigrants’ incentive to learn English, threatens national unity, and costs so much. James Fallows, a proponents of having bilingualism in the U.S. Fallows claim that there is no need to declare English as the official language in the U.S. “because it already is that” (263). Fallows argues that English is already the most powerful language in this world, and obviously the immigrants knew that fact. Therefore, bilingual services will not reduce the incentive of immigrants to learn English. However, his argument is not fully correct.
I believe that American Sign Language should be officially considered a foreign language. Some people may argue otherwise but the most important part is that schools, and colleges and universities will consider American Sign Language a foreign language because the language is increasing in popularity over the common French, Spanish, and Japanese. Even though the amount of reasons why American Sign Language cannot be considered a foreign language is very close to the amount of reason why American Sign Language can be considered a foreign language the thing that matters is how many people think that American Sign Language is considered a foreign language and how many school, colleges, and universities will accept it at a foreign language and give credit and degree for that class.
The majority of Americans believe English is the official language of the United States. However, The United States has no official language at all. This mistake is commonly based upon English being the most popular language spoken in North America. Making English official has recently become a popular topic, and more people every day join a curiosity of why it is not the official language. English should be the official language of the United States to give the people what they want, to recognize the historic role, and to limit controversy.
According to New Straits Times (2016), many graduates are not employed due to their lack of proficiency in English when it comes to speaking. The importance of learning English has never been in the back of their mind. Therefore, Malaysians should be open-minded and enhance their cognitive skills to embrace English Language as their second language because in the end their perception is what matter the most. For example, parents should be practicing their children to speak English or get them familiar with the language but at the same time not to ignore their mother tongue. In brief, Malaysians should change the way they think in order to excel in the
Considering the facts that many minority groups speak English as a second language and America has no official language, compulsory foreign language classes are viable options. Of course, opponents of mandatory foreign language courses will say that immigrants and naturalized citizens should learn and speak the "de facto" official language of the United States--English. It is a valid point, but misses the bigger picture. People who speak English as a second language are already bilingual, while American-born students typically are not. Language is the most fundamental aspect of a culture.
As Kamber states, "We don't need a law formalizing what already is a fact: English is the language in which this nation's business is conducted" (216). Also, Rumbaunt and Portes point out the illusory problem that the nativist organizations propose (217). However, the affirmatives have completely different opinions. O'Leary defends that although English ha... ... middle of paper ... ...on't help" for the communication between those ethnic groups who can't speak English well will lead to a serious problem (216). For example, "the testimony of crime victims who can't yet speak English might be prohibited in court"; "police officers and doctors might be left without interpreters to protect those who don't speak English"; or it would be very difficult for schools to communicate with students' parents (217).
English is the Global Language of today. There is great controversy circumventing this view. Although there are positive outcomes, the negatives outbalance them to some extent as it means that many languages will die out as a result. As a global lingua franca, English has the puissance to enhance communication between individuals, being particularly favourable and propitious in the area of economics and trade. Despite this, it has persistently been the substratum for the death of numerous other languages, consequently posing a threat to identity, and the value of language and culture.
For many, if not most colonists, there was no such thing as "American," at least not in the sense of being a nationality, no more so than one's nationality could be Georgian or Mississippian or Montanan and not American today. Whether or not the colonists were in close proximity with the English throne was of no concern. It might take longer for the colonists to receive their mail and newspapers, but they were still citizens. One major ideological similarity between the colonists and the European English was the e... ... middle of paper ... ...in Europe. The Americans had even adopted an extreme belief that they could, and should, reject the rule of the King, and any other monarch.